Parents seek apology in child molestation case

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-11-19  |     ONLINE EDITION

THE parents an 11-year-old girl demanded a public apology from a former official for grabbing their daughter and rejected a police report that said it was "drunken misbehavior" not child molestation.

The parents refuted the November 5 result of a Shenzhen City police investigation in Guangdong Province, Nanfang Daily reported today.

Lin Jiaxiang, former Communist Party chief and deputy director of the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration, was sacked from his post after getting drunk and losing control in public on the night of October 29.

Photos and video clips of the incident showed Lin attempted to force an underage girl into the men's restroom after he consumed too much alcohol at a seafood restaurant in Shenzhen. The girl, surnamed Chen, managed to escape.

The parents said both Lin and their daughter have admitted there was body contact as Lin grabbed the girl by her shoulder and neck, which indicated his actions were more than drunken misbehavior. Lin’s actions were consistent with child molestation, the parents said in a statement.

Secondly, the parents said that grabbing a girl on the shoulders or around the neck is assault.

``He is not our relative or friend. Lin is a stranger to us and such conduct is simply not allowed between an unknown adult and a child,’’ the parents said in the statement, according to the newspaper.

Thirdly, the parents said evidence including their daughter’s statement, on-site videos and testimony from witnesses was enough to prove Lin’s conduct equaled child molestation.

Finally, the parents said the incident had a bad effect on society and that Lin should be punished legally, not just fired from his position.

``No matter what the police investigation says and whether Lin is charged or not, we demand a public apology from him,’’ the parents said at the end of their statement. ``We reserve our legal rights to investigate legal responsibility through all possible means.’’